Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) EVP Sells $142,547.30 in Stock

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares in the company, valued at $29,438,776.43. This trade represents a 0.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $459.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.21 billion, a PE ratio of -230.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $435.75 and a 200 day moving average of $461.80.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on VRTX. Bank of America lowered their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $566.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $505.96.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.